Separable statistical unit



NOV- 11, 1941. J. s. OETTINGER SEPARABLE STATISTICAL UNIT 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed` Feb. 9, 1939 fig-5.

INVENTOR JOSEPH S. OETT//VGER A `ATToRNEY Patented Nov. 11, 1941 SEPARABLE STATISTICAL UNIT Joseph S. Oettinger, New York, N. Y., assignor to S. D. Leidesdorf & Co., New York, N. Y., a

partnership Application February 9, 1939, Serial No. 255,419

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to the art of analytical and statistical cards, and, more particularly, to separable statistical cards capable of being assembled and reassembled in various sequences for the purpose of obtaining statistical and analytical reports without recopying of any nature.

The type of reports principally contemplated by the present invention Will be readily understood and illustrated for example by the departmental reports of a chain of stores sent to a main oflice at regular time intervals. As those skilled in the art know, each store consists of a series of merchandise departments for each of which separate merchandising gures are maintained. The management of the chain generally requires that these merchandising reports or statistics be presented in two types of reports: rst, a report of the individual store by merchandise departments, and secondly, a report of one department in the various stores having such merchandise. Thus, the first report would consist of a separate sheet for a single store, listing one after another the operations of the various de'- partments and nally showing the store total. The second report would be a separate sheet for one department, listing the operations of such department in the various stores of the chain, one after another, possibly with a total for the department for the entire chain.

Heretofore, the preparation of such reports involved considerable work and expense. Usually the information was accumulated arranged in the order of one report, such as the report of an individual store by merchandise departments. This report was relatively easy to prepare. On the other hand, the rearrangement of the data contained in the rst report and the preparation of the other report on the other basis required either manual recopying of all of the figures or the purchase or hire of costly accounting machines. Of course, all of these conventional procedures were connected with considerable disadvantages such as the high cost of preparing the reports, including the cost or hire of the machines, and the delays caused by the manual or machine tabulation. Although from time to time various suggestions and proposals were made vto solve the outstanding problem and to provide the art with a simple, eicient and inexpensive method and device for the preparation of statistical and analytical cards or charts, none, as far as I am aware, of these suggestions and proposals was completely satisfactory and successful on a practical and commercial scale.

I have discovered that the problem may be solved in a simple and completely satisfactory manner.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means for the preparation of various types of reports from a single set of data, for example, a report of an operating unit, such as a store, by divisions, such as departments; and secondly,

a specific division, such as a speciiic department,

by the operating units or stores.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a medium for accumulating and transmitting information constituted of a plurality of detachable or separable parts each bearing a portion of the information, said separable parts being capable of being rearranged to provide a new statistical table.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a sheet or card of detachable or separable character constituted of a plurality of overlapping strips in a shingle-like arrangement, each of these strips being individually printed in hectographic ink with appropriate headings and bearing information of varying character on the visible portion thereof, said detachable sheet being adapted to function as an integral sheet prior to the time it is separated into its individual portions which are rearranged to provide a different tabulation.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a top elevational View of a set of sheets including a plain or primary sheet and a separable sheet embodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 depicts a side elevational view, somewhat diagrammatic in character, of the set of sheets illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a top elevational view of a separable sheet embodying the principles of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational View of the sheet shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a top elevational View of a sheet similar to the One shown in Fig. 3 after its various sections have been rearranged;

Fig. 6 is a top elevational view of a single strip of the separable sheet.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. As will be readily observed from the drawings, essentially a primary sheet I and a separable or shingle-like sheet 2 are provided which in the writing or operative position have a sheet of hectographic carbon paper 3 provided therebetween. Primary sheet I is constituted of an integral sheet of paper or similar material having a plurality of writing lines 4 provided therein divided into boxes 5 by means of appropriate vertical lines. Each vertical row of boxes is provided with suitable captions 6 indicating the type of the information which has to be 1nserted into the box in question. Thus, the primary sheet shown in Fig. l exemplies a sheet reporting the sales effected in the various merchandise departments of onestore of a chain. Accordingly, the various captions read Storej Dept., Sales, Markdowns etc., so that the sheet after being properly filled out by the store indicates the sales and markdowns of all of the departments of the same store during a predetermined time interval. The marginal portions of primary sheet I are provided with a row of holes 'I atV both sides of the sheet, one

hole being provided for each writing line, the holes being ,equidistantially spaced. The object of these holes is to establish cooperation with a peg-board and thereby to assure alignment of the primary sheet with a separable sheet.

The construction of the separable sheet will be best understood from Fig. 3 of the drawings. The external appearance of the separable sheet is identical with that of the primary sheet in that it is divided into a plurality of writing lines 8 corresponding in dimensions and arrangement to writing lines 4 of the primary sheet. Likewise, vertical lines similar to those of the primary sheet are provided, dividing the sheet into a plurality of boxes 9. Each vertical row of boxes is provided with suitable captions I0 similar to the captions of the primary sheet. A row of holes II is provided in each of the lateral marginal portions of the separable sheet, one hole being provided for each writingl line, the holes being equidistantially spaced in the same arrangement as on the primary sheet. In view of the fact that all of the lines, captions and holes are provided in the same arrangement in both the primary and in the separable sheet, they may be superimposed upon one another by means of a peg board so that each box of the primary sheet -will be directly above a corresponding box of the separable sheet.

In contrast to the primary sheet which is constituted of an integral sheet of paper, the separable sheet is constituted of a plurality of strips I2, generally of the same number as there are writing lines in the primary sheet. The strips are identical in character and in dimensions and as it will be best observed from Fig. 5, each strip is individually provided with captions I identical with the captions of the primary sheet, so that each strip can be individually read and interpreted, if desired. It will be noted that each strip is provided with:v four marginal holes at both sides thereof, of which holes the lowest ones, are in the center of the single writing lines of ther strip whereasy the other three holes are above the writing line in the portion of the strip containing the captions or headings. The yindividual strips are so assembled as to form an overlapping or shinglelike structure, so that the topmost strip covers 3X1 of the width of the second strip leaving only the writing line thereof visible and completely covering the captions of the second strip.

Again,

the second strip covers 3A of the width of the third strip leaving only the writing line of the third strip visible, and so forth. This arrangement is readily accomplished by means oi the marginal holes in each strip. In the separable sheet illustrated in Fig. 3, holes 2, 3 and 4 of the topmost strip are in alignment with holes I, 2 and 3 of the second strip, holes 3 and 4 of the topmost strip are registering with holes 2 and 3 of the second strip and with holes I and 2 of the third strip, etc. It will be noted that when these strips thus assembled are placed on a peg-board, each peg except the top and the bottom ones of the row, passes through the holes of a plurality of strips. A tape I5 is provided underneath the marginal portions of the strips at each end `thereof and connects the series of strips in a shingle-like arrangement into a structure which in all respects can be handled as a single unit. In order to permit easy separation of the unit into the individual strips it is preferred to provide a vertical row of perforations or indentations I6 between each tape and each row of holes so that by tearing off the marginal portions defined by the perforations, the strips are separated from each other.

From the foregoing description, the operation of the separable sheets embodying the principles ofthe present invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. To enter the statistical information required by the reports, the two 4types of sheets, to wit: the 'primary sheet `and th'e separable sheet, are placed upon a work board equipped with peg strips to insure complete alignment between the two sheets and to hold the strips of the separable sheet taut and in the correct position, a sheet of hectographic carbon paper being provided between the primary sheet and the separable sheet. Where the primary and the separable sheet and an interleaved sheet of hectographic carbon paper have been bound together, all that is necessary is to place a set of such sheets on the pegs which are so arranged as to fit the hole punchings. Where the set had not been prefabricated, the sheets are assembled on the work-board. Fig. 1 illustrates the arrangement of the set in the operative position, the primary sheet being at the top and the separable sheet being at the bottom of the set.

Hectographic pen or pencil is used for entering the data on the primary sheet. The hectographic carbon paper between the primary and the separable sheet will duplicate the statistics so entered on the separable sheet so that in one writing the information is entered for both reports. Since the printing on the strips constituting the separable sheet lines up exactly with that on the first, the two sheets, as filled out, are identical with keach other. 'I'he report may be completely filled out in one continuous operation or it may be prepared in stages either at the same point or at several places. To cite the example of the chain store, certain information may be entered by the store and the balance by the home office. Where this is done, the forms are taken from the work-board transported without folding or creasing to the other point, replaced there on a similar work-board n and completed.

After all of the statistical data have been entered, including the totals, if they are desired,

ilrst type of report which, as it appears from Fig. 1, is, for example, a statistical report of the operation of a single store indicating the sales and the miarkdowns of each department. This rst type of report may be duplicated in the usual manner by means of a gelatin-type hectographic machine, the sheet being placed on the gelatin bed, face downwards. The rulings of the form and the statistics, both of which were prepared with hectographic ink, are transferred to the gelatin bed in the conventional manner and the desired number of copies of the report is then run off.

The separable sheet is employed for the preparation of the second report. This report takes one division of the unit, such as a merchandising department of a store and shows the statistics of that division (departments) along with and in comparison with the corresponding divisions in the other units, (stores). The first step, therefore` is to take the separable sheet for all units, to separate each of said sheets into their individual strips and to sort the separated strips by divisions. In the example of the chain store, the separable sheets for all of the stores of the chain have to be separat'ed into strips, and the strips have to be sorted by departments.

To take apart one of these separable sheets requires only the removal of tapes I which are the only means by which the strips are bound together. The tapes may be removed by a cutting machine or may be torn off by hand. In the latter case it is desirable to provide in each of the margins of the strips a vertical row of perforations or identations IB which is located between the series of holes punchings and the portion of th'e extreme edges where the tapes are applied.

'I'he separable sheets embodying the invention may be separated into strips and sorted individually; or by observing certain routines, a group of separable sheets may be separated into strips and sorted in one simple operation. In this group sorting, the sheets of the several units are arranged in the same sequence as these units are to be listed on the second report. It is essential that the sheets be placed in this order exactly on top of one another for example by using the same pegs of a special pegboard with removable pegs for the corresponding holes' of the sheets. When all sheets have been placed in this order, the sheets will be separated. For this purpose, it maybe found desirable to use a cutting machine. If the binding tapes are to be torn oil, the perforations I6 must be provided in the original construction of the sheets. The strips remain in place held by the pegs upon which they had been placed. Because the Isheets were placed one upon another, using the same pegs for corresponding holes, it becomes possible to withdraw a group of strips at a time, the strips being for the corresponding idivision in each of the units; and because the sheets were placed on the pegs in the order in which the units were to be listed on the report, the strips, as Withdrawn, are in exactly the desired sequence.

Because the strips in sheet form overlap one another, except for the writing line, adjacent strips have one or more hole punchingsin common. Therefore, when the sheets have been placed upon the pegboard, each set of strips can be withdrawn only after the peg or pegs which are common to these strips and the next adjacent ones, have been removed.` Only then is the one set free and independent so that it can be withdrawn as a group. An apparatus with removable pegs so constructed and arranged as to allow this detachment of progressive sets of strips or slips, without disturbing or freeing the subsequent sets of strips prior to their turn for withdrawal, may be employed for this purpose.

Each group of strips comprising the body of information required on the second type of report is then prepared for the duplicating machine. With the same holes which have served for other uses in the operations previously clescribed, the strips are individually placed upon two peg strips. These peg strips are made in dimensions identical with the peg strips first described, but instead of being placed in xed position on a work board, these peg strips are held apart at the correct distance by two cross bars which being placed at the ends of the peg strips, form a rectangular frame, with the space within being unencumbered.

The strips are interleaved on the pegs in a manner that assembles a new sheet, the writing lines of the individual strips being the only portions remaining visible. In other words, the sheet is assembled in the same manner as described in its construction, except that binding is unnecessary. As the order of the strips is the same order as the units are listed on the report, the strips are assembled on the pegging apparatus without need for further resorting. When the operation has thus been completed, one blank strip is added to the sheet onwhich the totals for the division are entered, as obtained by a comptometer or machine addition of the component strips. A new secondary sheet assembled in accordance with the foregoing procedure is illustrated in Fig. 5, and represents a record sheet indicating the sales of the same merchandise division of all of the stores of the chain. Where the writing line is on the bottom of the individual strip and the sheet has been built from the bottom upwards towards the top, the blank str-ip containing the totals must be the rst and not the last one to be placed on the pegs, in order to be at the bottom of the report. As it appears from Fig. 5, the reassembled sheet is in every way similar to the separable sheet shown in Fig. 3, except that the marginal portions originally connected by tape I5 'are missing.

The pegging apparatus with the reassembled strips is then placed face downward upon the gelatin bed of the duplicating machine. Pressure is applied onto the back of the strips by means of a hand roller so that the hectographic ink of the form matter and of the statistical matter is transferred to the gelatin in the usual manner. desired number of copies by operating the duplicating machine in the conventional manner.

Although the present invention has been illustrated and described in connection with reporting departmental operations of a chain store, it is equally adaptable for the preparation of expense reports, merchandise unit sales reports, stock reports, and the like. Thus, for example, a company having a number of plants producing similar items can by the use of my invention prepare the report of operations of each mill by divisions, and also a report of one division 1n the various mills, including production reports and inventory reports. Likewise, sales divisions have numerous applications where reports requiring similar cross-analysis are desirable.

lf the position of a sheet placed on an appa- The report is then prepared in the l ratus having two peg strips is` examined, it will be found that the writing line of the first strip is clear of the adjacent strips and that the peg penetrating the holes of this writing line holds this strip and only this strip.v It will be likewise observed that the other holes of the vfirst strip are pegged in common with the second strip; that is the second hole of the first strip with the first hole of the second strip; the second hole of the first strip with the third hole of the second strip; and so on. However, because the second strip is staggered in the interleaved position, its

lposterior edge extends behind the corresponding edge ofthe rst strip to the same extent, to wit: the space equal to .the distance of a writing line. In other words, the second strip extends one hole further back, beyond the edge of the first strip, and this hole, of course, corresponds to a hole in the third strip.

From the foregoing considerations, it will clearly appear that the first strip can be withdrawn only if the pegs which hold it in common with the second strip are removed. It is like'- wise clear that if only those pegs are removed,

`one peg remains which holds the second strip in fixed relationship with the third strip. The withdrawal of the first strip, therefore, would not disturb the second. While in the foregoing considerations the examination of the relationships of the hole punchings of the various strips was restricted to a single separable sheet, it is contemplated to separate a large number of sheets in one operation. It is obvious that if only one separable sheet were to be taken apart, the strips could be individually removed or lifted from the pegs, one after another, withoutl being concerned with the removal of pegs from the sheet. When, however, a considerable number of .sheets are placed upon one another, the separation may be made only by the removal of pegs and by the simultaneous withdrawal of the entire set of corresponding strips.

To summarize the result of the foregoing considerations, when a series of sheets are in position on the pegs of a peg board, the first peg holds only the rst strips of the several sheets at the writing line, and this line is free from contact with the next interleaved strips. The next peg, and one or two subsequent pegs (depending upon the width of the strip and on the number of holes z punched therein) hold the rst strip and also l the second strip at the same time. -These pegs must be removed in order to free the rst series of strips so that they may be withdrawn. The one peg which is located immediately behind the posterior edge of the rst strip and, therefore, has no contact with the first strip, holds the second and third strips in fixed relative position. If this peg is not removed, the withdrawal of the rst set of strips does not disturb the second set.

After the first set of strips has been thus removed, the second set of strips takes the same position which was heretofore occupied by the first. The second peg located `at the writing line holds only the second strips and is not in common with the third strips. The third and subsequent one or two pegs (depending upon the width of the strip) hold the second and third strips in common, and therefore, must be withdrawn, and the peg immediately behind the rear of the second strip holds the third strip in fixed position with the fourth, which peg, not being removed, prevents the removal of the second. series of strips from disturbing the third set. Thus, in

this manner the series '.of'corresponding strips are progressively taken off and separated.

Although the present invention has been described in vconnection with a few selected embodiments thereof, variations and modifications may be resorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from from the principles of the present invention. I consider all of these variations and modifications as within the true spirit and scope of the present invention as disclosed in the foregoing description and defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. As a new article of manufacture, a separable statistical sheet comprising in combination a plurality of strips of identical dimensions, each of said strips being imprinted in hectrographic ink provide individual captions and a writing line for the reception of intelligence, a flexible tape connecting the back face of the marginal portions of said strips for maintaining said strips inv shingle-like overlapping relation in which each strip covers the captions and exposes the writing line of an adjoining strip, a plurality of holes in each side of said strips adapted to register with similar holes of the other strips in the overlapping position thereof to` form a row of holes beyond said exible tape and engageable by a peg board, and a tearing line in said strips between .each tape and each rowof holes for separating said lsheet into its individual strips, each bearing reassemblable intelligence and captions therefor.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a separable statistical sheet comprising in combination a plurality `of strips of identical dimensions, each of said strips bearings .a writing line for the reception of intelligence, means connecting only the marginal portions of said strips for maintaining said strips in predetermined arrangement in which said writing lines are in consecutive parallelspaced position while leaving the center portions of said strips disconnected from each other, and at least one hole at each end of said strips adjoining to but not extending into said marginal portions forming a row of uniformly spaced holes .engageable by a peg board, said statistical sheet being adapted to be separated into reassemblable individual strips bearing unitary intelligence by removing said marginal portions while retaining said holes for temporarily maintaining said strips by the peg board in their relative position.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a separable statistical sheet comprising in combination a plurality of strips of identical dimensions, each .of said strips bearing a writing line for the reception of intelligence, means connecting only the marginal portions of said strips for maintaining said strips in predetermined overlapping relation in which said writing lines are exposed in consecutive parallel-spaced position while leaving the center portions of said strips disconnectedv from each other, and at least one hole at each end of said strips adjoining to but not extending into said marginal portions forming a row of uniformly spaced holes engageable by a peg board,

, said statistical sheet being adapted to be separated into'reassemblable individual strips bearing unitary intelligence by removing said marginal portions while retaining said holes for temporarily maintaining said strips by the pegboard in their relative position.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a separable statistical sheet comprising in combination a plurality of strips of identical dimensions, each of said strips bearing a writing line for ,the reception of intelligence and captions therefor, means connecting only the marginal portions of said strips but leaving their center portions disconnected from each other for maintaining said strips in overlapping relation to mutually expose the writing lines and to mask the captions thereof whereby a table containing said intelligence in predetermined order is provided, and at least one hole at each end of said strips adjoining to but not extending into said marginal portions forming a row of uniformly spaced holes engageable by a peg board, said statistical sheet being adapted to be separated into reassemblable individual strips bearing unitary intelligence by removing said marginal portions While retaining said holes for reassembling said strips on a peg board with similar strips to form tables containing said intelligence in diierent predetermined order.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a separable statistical sheet comprising in combination a plurality of strips of identical dimensions, each of said strips being imprinted in copyable ink with individual captions and writing lines for the reception of intelligence, a tape connecting the back face of the marginal portions of said strips for maintaining said strips in shingle-like overlapping relation to expose the writing line and to mask the captions of each strip whereby a table containing said intelligence in predetermined order is provided, a plurality of holes at each end of said strips adjoining to but not extending into said marginal portions adapted to register with similar holes of the other strips in the overlapping position thereof and to form a row of uniformly spaced holes engageable by a peg board, said statistical sheet being adapted to be separated into reassemblable individual strips bearing unitary intelligence by removing said marginal portions while retaining said holes for reassembling said strips on a peg board with similar strips to form tables containing said intelligence in different predetermined order.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a separable statistical unit comprising in combination a primary sheet bearing a plurality of writing lines for entering statistical data thereon in predetermined order; a separable sheet bearing writing lines in identical spatial arrangement constituted of a plurality of strips of identical dimensions, each of said strips bearing a writing line for the reception of intelligence, and having means connecting only the marginal portions thereof to maintain said strips in parallel-spaced position While leaving the center portions of said strips disconnected from said other; a transfer sheet interposed between said primary and said separable sheets for transferring intelligence from one sheet to the other, and rows of holes in said sheets adjoining to but not extending into the marginal portions of said secondary sheet for maintaining said sheets in registering position; said separable sheet being adapted to be separated into reassemblable individual strips bearing unitary intelligence by removing said marginal' portions while retaining said holes for temporarily maintaining said strips by a peg board in their relative position.

7 As a new article o manufacture, a separable statistical unit comprising in combination a primary sheet bearing a plurality of writing lines for entering statistical data thereon in predetermined order; a separable sheet bearing writing lines in identical spatial arrangement constituted of a plurality of strips of identical dimensions, each of said strips bearing a writing line for the reception of intelligence and captions therefor and having means connecting only the marginal portions thereof but leaving their center portions disconnected from each other to maintain said strips in shingle-like overlapping relation in which the writing lines are exposed and the captions are masked; a hectographic transfer sheet interposed between said primary and said separable sheets for transferring intelligence from one sheet to the other, and rows of holes in said sheets adjoining to but not extending into the marginal portions of said secondary sheet for maintaining said sheets in registering position; said separable sheet being adapted to be separated into reassemblable individual strips bearing unitary intelligence by removing said marginal portions while retaining said holes.

JOSEPH S. OEIIINGER. 

